Inside His Mind
by PrincessJazzmine
Summary: The first season from Four's perspective! Das & Four are end game but other than that totally cannon compliant. Rating may change. Shoutout to darkmatterfourfive for helping me and editing this. It's my first fanfic so be gentle. Inspired by the great LadyShadowWalker's Lincoln Chronicles! Everyone is in it, but I can only list 4 characters. Also on A03! And yep, that's me! :)
1. Awakening

The first thing he heard was the hiss. He opened his eyes to the sight of three people peering at him through condensation-covered glass. He ignored them in favor of catching a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The glass slid out of the way and he stepped out , legs shaky from time spent in the pod, to a bombardment of questions.

"Who are you?"

"Can you remember anything?"

"Who are we?"

He stared at them shaking his head in answer. His memory was a blank slate. This bothered him If he couldn't remember who he was, he couldn't be sure of who was friend or foe.

The trio headed off in the direction of the nearest stasis pod and he trailed behind. Never turn your back on an enemy. Someone his fractured memory couldn't recall repeated this mantra throughout a life he had lost. He wasn't sure what to make of the group in front of him, but he would be watching his until it was clear.

As the three walked ahead, he took account of whom the greatest threat was. There was a woman-she seemed experienced in warfare and vying for dominance with a man. The man with a scar across the right of his face. He had a gun and a walk that spoke of cockiness bred by experience. The woman walked like a soldier but held herself like a corporal. She seemed used to power and wore the mantle well. She was also not in the standard stasis uniform, immediately separate from the rest. She wasn't fully covered yet didn't appear to be cold. The third, a timid man putting on bravado, had eyes only for the woman. She didn't seem to notice and the man covered well but he watched the man's eyes slide back to her. Had he already formed some sort of attachment to her? He noticed but filed it away for later. He needed to stay focused and learn as much as he could about these people. Maybe then he'd discover what was going on and how he fit into it.

He slid back, into the shadows, observing that it was comfortable to him and that his body moved fluidly, soundlessly. The three ahead did not notice. How did he acquire this skill? Did he learn to hide from a raised hand? Or for easier kills? Either way he was comfortable in silence and shadows. That's where he'd stay.

They arrived at the next occupied stasis pod. Glass slid away, air hissed, and out stepped a teal haired girl. She could have been anywhere from 14 to 20 but the innocent blue eyes blinking at everyone led him to believe she was younger. She wasn't wearing the same stasis uniform as the rest of them. Unlike the woman she was fully covered explaining her lack of discomfort in the face of the frigid temperatures of the stasis pod.

They asked her the same questions they asked him, gentler. Her responses were quick and frightened. The woman said she could be called Five since she was the fifth one to wake up. Guess that made him Four. It was a name.

The woman led the group down to where the last door on the last stasis pod was opening. He watched the girl stick close to the woman, as far away from the other two men as possible. Had she remembered something to make her fear those men?

If she were to be believed, she was among the ranks of the amnesiacs. He noted she was not wary of being close to him, actually falling back to walk between him and the woman. Why her aversion of men didn't seem to stretch to him he didn't know or care. His mission right now was gathering data and assessing the situation.

They arrived at the last pod. The door slid open but the large black man inside remained asleep. The woman and the man with the gun walked closest to the door. Four stood back. Better to observe for now. The man tapped the glass with the muzzle.

"Shake n' wake, Tiny. Shake n' wake." Four noted his accent was off, different from the rest. The man inside opened his eyes and stared in confusion at the group in front of him.

Four detected the girl, Five, slowing creeping back toward him. His shoulders tightened but he didn't move to stop her. He could handle himself. He was more wary of why he was confident and found it vaguely alarming that he had no idea what he or anyone around him was capable of.

As Four processed the situation, the man with the gun reached out and manually opened the door. The timid man, not to be outdone, spoke to the resident of the stasis pod.

"Who are you?" Confusion furrowed the lines of the man's face. "You don't remember, do you?" "No." "Well hell," breathed the gun toter. "That makes six of us," the timid man seemed to be taking the lead this time.

"What's going on?" Asked the black man. "We all woke up just like you," replied the timid man. He seemed to grow braver under the gaze of the woman.

"No memories. No idea of who we are or how we got here." He looked around as if for confirmation. The gun toter had begun wandering as soon as the timid one took the lead and Four turned his head as he heard doors opening behind him.

"Hey guys, check this out," scar-face was back in control. Four followed behind the woman and the timid man. He watched Five stay slightly behind him when they moved forward. The black man seemed almost reluctant to follow. They headed down a corridor towards a room. He couldn't tell what was in it and despite himself found his curiosity piqued for more information.

The girl slowly stepped around him as they neared the entrance. Her body briefly brushed his and she flinched slightly from the contact. While mildly amused at this involuntary action, he began to wonder, if fleetingly, what her body remembered that her mind did not to cause such a reaction.

The group entered into a room filled with metal boxes. The black man was the last to enter. His earthy voice gravelly from lack of use rang out in Four's ear. "What is this place?"

The timid man responded. "It's a ship. And looks like we're dead in space."

The group began to slowly spread out. Four hung back, comfortable in the dark. The woman spoke. "Systems were down and we were venting atmosphere. I was able to get us back on line and restore the ships auto repair protocol." Four comprehended then why they were awoken from stasis. If the ship was damaged it would have woken up any passengers in stasis to conserve energy. Those pods needed quite a bit of pressure. Didn't explain the memory wipe, or how he understood a ship's procedure in the events of damage, but Four would keep that to himself until he knew more information. The black man spoke up again. "How'd you manage that?"

"I don't know exactly." The hesitancy in her voice was strange after the authority with which she had spoken only seconds before. Either she was an excellent actress or she was telling the truth. "I was standing there at the console and it just… came to me."

"Well that's a good thing." Heads turned to face the timid man. "It'll all come back to us eventually, right?" The woman began opening what appeared to be lockers behind her. "Hey, if anyone's feeling underdressed…" she pulled out a jacket. The girl, eager to explore this newfound closet, opened the nearest locker. The others began opening things as well.

The timid one spoke looking at the black man. "For now we've named ourselves in the order we woke up in. I'm One. She's Two…" The woman looked up as he gestured towards her. The man with the gun began beating on a lock on a crate. One looked at him with mild annoyance. "Three. Four." He glanced at me. "Five." The girl nodded her head in acknowledgement and went back to exploring. "Which makes you Six."

Two seemed to have found coms while Five and Six had each found a jacket more suited for the other. Neither seemed to realize it yet. Three's insistent clanging proved futile as the crate remained very much locked. "Damn it."

Five and Six switched jackets as Two confirmed his earlier suspicion. "We've got comms." Six spoke up. "So what do you think? We the crew of some transport vessel on some sort of long range haul?" The group meandered toward Two, except Four who still stayed to the back, not trusting these strangers.

She began handing out comms. "Would explain what we were doing in stasis. Ship gets into trouble. Takes some damage. Systems shut down. When life support hits critical hazard protocols kick in and we're automatically awakened." Just as he'd suspected, Four did not offer his opinion but eyed the procession for comms and continued his exploration of the crate in front of him.

"Wouldn't explain the memory loss though." Six seemed to be analyzing the situation as much as Four. Three seemed to find his second wind and began to once again beat against the lock. Five jumped at the sudden loud noise and Four wondered why that bothered him. With one final blow Three broke the lock off and looked at his shipmates with something akin to smugness. The scar on his face always made him look slightly smug so there was no telling whether this was the emotion he was trying to portray or not.

Three began to grin as he knelt down to lift the lid. "Got it." Four was the only one who didn't seem to be riveted by the crate. Self-preservation outweighed his curiosity and he remained where he was while the rest of the group inched forward to get a better view of whatever was in the crate. Four dug through the crate and found some clothes that looked like they would fit him. "So what are we shipping? Seeds? Meds?" One asked as Three opened the lid. He seemed to be the most interested in the contents. "Better." Three chuckled out. Reaching inside he pulled out an automatic rifle. Now Four understood his glee.

"Who wants?" Five seemed eager to get her hands on a weapon and rushed toward the arsenal. "I don't think so." Two was quick to shut her down, taking the pistol from her hands. "Hey!" Four wondered why she wanted the gun. Protection? Or did she actually plan on shooting someone? He figured she felt the need to protect herself given there were now four large men and she and Two were the only females in sight.

Two once again took command. "We're going to need to check this place out. Let's pair off. Three you're with Six. One with Four. And I'll be with Five." Four looked at her but didn't protest. One was a stringy guy. Based on body types alone, Four figured he could take him should he prove to be violent.

He dressed in the clothes he'd found and looked around for his partner. One glanced at him and began to rummage through a locker. He walked up to the box Two had abandoned in favor of policing Five's weaponry and selected a comm. As One finished dressing the duo headed out, leaving the room with the sound of a plasma gun charging filling their ears.


	2. Exploration

Upon departing from the group Four allowed One to take the lead. He was interested in discovering the layout of his new surroundings, but not enough to turn his back on an armed potential enemy. One chattered on about his awakening and his ineptitude. Four found One's need to fill the silence exhausting and didn't bother with responding. One seemed content to ramble on about nonsensical things like why when he stood at the console just like Two he was unable to achieve any desirable results. Recalibrating a ship to override protocol couldn't have been easy. Still, One was upset because it didn't 'just come' to him. It didn't matter. The ship was fixed. Four focused on finding and memorizing exits, vantage points, and other critical information during their expedition. He found that this too came reflexively to him. Did he once execute attacks? Or plan for them? The result was the same: he gathered the intel and memorized as much of the layout as he could.

One was becoming increasingly agitated, the longer Four remained quiet. One's nervousness was obvious as he talked louder and louder Four was silent, and touched his firearm increasingly often as if to remind himself it was there. He knew he could say something but opted against it for now. He would speak when the situation called for it and not a moment sooner. The longer you let people talk the more they reveal about themselves.

Finally, in defeat One turned to him "You're about to blow my theory here." Exasperated with the childish pestering and choosing to hold off on violence for now, Four finally responded. "This way." It was the first time he had spoken since he'd awoken and voice was rough from disuse. Four took the lead tired of ambling about aimlessly. "Uh, why don't you lead?" Although he seemed annoyed, One followed behind Four anyway.

Something was itching in the back of Four's mind, so much so that he rejected safety precautions to follow memories long since forgotten towards a room. The door opened as they neared and he entered cautiously. The lights also appeared to be motion sensored and sprung to life to illuminate what was clearly some sort of training room. One trailed in behind voicing the obvious. "Training room?" Four ignored the comment in favor of surveying his surroundings. He felt almost relaxed here. Prior to the memory wipe he must have spent a great deal of time here. "Or torture chamber maybe." Clearly One didn't feel the same way.

He gravitated toward a table with a pair of swords lying atop it. Both katana were near their sheaths. He hesitantly gripped the handles noting how they seemed custom made to fit his hands. He turned and slid the blades against each other finding peace in the sound of metal against metal. With a flick of the wrist, muscles began to clench in familiarity.

One turned with caution. "You sure you know how to handle those things?"

Four slowly raised the blades and closed his eyes. He let his mind go blank and allowed his body to perform a dance he could no longer remember. The blades wove and spun with deadly precision as his feet moved in an aggressive pattern. Clearly he was attacking but who was a mystery. The quick and plentiful jabs suggested his muscles were used to multiple opponents. Still his eyes remained closed. If One was stupid enough to stand within striking distance, he deserved to bleed. Jumps and kicks were effortlessly incorporated. Swordsmanship was not his only skill. He opened his eyes briefly ensuring One had the common sense to stay out of the way as his body performed its deadly ballet. Pirouetting to a sudden halt, the blades clanged together signaling an end to his movement. Opening his eyes slowly he looked One in the face, holding overlaying blades to his neck.

Glancing down, barely masking either nerves or fear, One spoke, voice shaking. "I'm gonna say yes." A slight chuckle was Four's only response.

Uncoiling slowly, Four pulled the blades away from One. On the table next to the sheaths was some sort of band. Maybe a holster. He walked briskly over to the table examining it. Four decided it was indeed a holster as One nearly cut himself on a smaller blade he'd picked up. One held the knife with his eyes closed and jabbed wildly. Four looked on, bemused as to what One thought he might look like. Four slid the holster into place and was less than shocked that it fit perfectly. Just as he was sheathing his blades he heard a voice over his comm.

"This is Six! We're under attack!".


	3. Attack

One and Four shared a look before the knife, once held by One, clattered to the floor and the duo took off towards the armory where they last saw Six and Three. As they were rounding the corner towards the cargo bay Two's voice rang out over the intercom.

"We need help anybody!"

One's response was immediate. "We heard, tell us where to go." Four kept moving forward, his adrenaline rushing, body primed for a fight. "I can track your comms. Take the next right." Four and One rushed to follow the instructions blasting over the speaker. "Left at the next intersection!"

Four's world narrowed to the upcoming battle. He was calm following the directions being fed to him without hesitation. His body moved agilely, smoothly rounding corners and avoiding run-ins with a less than observant One. His right hand remained on the hilt of his katana, his left free to direct his body and propel him forward. His mind was clear, focused on defeating whoever threatened the safety of his shipmates, and by extension, himself. His speed increased until One was several feet behind him.

As they ran along the corridor he began to hear sounds of a struggle. There was a resounding din followed by a thud as he deftly descended the metal stairs, drawing his weapon.

The blue clad woman in front of him quickly turned at the sound of his unsheathed katana and he attacked. Swinging his blade with deadly precision he aimed for her throat, scarcely missing decapitating her. He slashed at her stomach, then downwards to gut her like a fish and she managed to dodge every potential blow. His sword continued to fly through the air where her neck should be but no longer was. As he went to attack again she grabbed his arm with inhuman speed stopping the strike midair. She spun him around squeezing a pressure point on his wrist. As her free hand wrapped around his throat, choking him and lifting him in the air, his hand went numb causing his blade to clatter to the ground.

Two's voice once again blasted over the intercom. "Some sort of security protocol has been activated!"

Using his good hand to pry the woman's hand from his throat, he struggled against a might few humans possessed. Leaning slightly on her fingers to activate his comm he growled into his earpiece. "Well override it." It didn't seem like a complicated conclusion to glean, however since Two hadn't already done it, he felt the need to bring it to her attention. Forcefully.

One reached the bottom of the stairs without detection and picked up the discarded sword. With no hesitation he brought it down on the woman's hand, severing it from her body and freeing Four. Four fell to the ground and struggled to remain conscious. As he heard his katana once again hit the floor, Three slid in front of him, gun pointed at the woman who hadn't bled when her hand was cut.  
Must be some kind of robot.

Two's voice sounded in his ear. "Okay I did it. Is everyone OK?" Three, out of breath drawled "Yeah, yeah. Took you long enough, doll face." Four's chest burned as he drew in ragged breaths, forcing his body to recover from being strangled. His lungs were nearly recovered from the oxygen deprivation but his throat still throbbed from the pressure she had held there. He recovered to his knees and looked around him, taking stock of the damage.

Six seemed unconscious, but he was breathing. Three was struggling to his feet, gun still pointed at the assailant. One seemed mostly unharmed as he scooted away from the android's (judging by the state-of-the-art alloys in her exposed arm) now motionless body. There were containers strewn throughout the room and two pipes lying close to larger piles of boxes. One went over to Six as the man began to slowly sit up. Four got to his feet and, assessing that there was no more immediate threat, sheathed his blade.

All four men turned at the sound of running feet above them. Three drew another gun from his leg and pointed it at the top of the stairs. Four's hand never left the hilt of his blade. Four could hear Six fighting to stand. Then a flash of turquoise curls had them all sighing in relief. None of them were surprised when Two was the first down the stairs. Five followed close behind, wide eyes taking in the remnants of the struggle.

Two walked up to the lifeless attacker and began to examine it. Five stopped at the bottom of the stairs staring at the detached hand. She glanced up at the men "Are you alright?" She didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular but Six answered. "Yeah, we're a little banged up but we're alright. Four and One came just in time." Her blue eyes darted between Six and One, coming to rest on Four. Briefly, her gaze flickered to where his right hand still gripped the hilt of his katana before she turned away and looked to Two.

"She seems to be an android. Somehow she's linked to the ship and something woke her up and triggered…" she shook her head looking for a way to describe the violent attack without inciting anger or denting egos. "A physical protection program?" One supplied. "Yes thank you." The group took a moment to take in this information. Four slipped into the shadows remaining quiet. If you cannot improve the silence, don't break it.

"Well, let's space her!" Three cheerfully proclaimed.

"She's linked to the ship. Spacing her could shut down everything, including heat, oxygen, you know the things we need to survive." Two's tone was bored and dismissive.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" remarked Three sourly. Two retrieved the hand still lying on the floor and said. "We fix her. We put this back on and we make it so she can't attack us again." Six spoke up. "I'll carry her to the infirmary." Two gave a single nod in agreement then turned to One. "You, Three and Four see what you can find in the way of food and supplies. Five, you're with me." Without turning around, she ascended the stairs clearly expecting her directions be followed. Six lifted the robot over his shoulder and obeyed. Five looked around the room once more before rushing up the stairs.

One shrugged at Four and began the tedious process of finding supplies. Four lifted the lid of the nearest container and found it empty. After repeating this process six more times he began to worry. If the crates weren't empty they were filled with junk. Wires, trays, head lamps, and stuff he couldn't even identify. 20 minutes in, Three yelled a victorious "Hell yeah!" One walked over and then motioned Four to come see. Protein and vitamin bars filled the silver container. One rummaged through, ensuring there wasn't any surprises at the bottom. Finding some frozen he put some on his cheek. Three grabbed a handful of the bars and began his proud march up the stairs. One rolled his eyes but followed him.

Four scowled at the backs of the men and bent to pick up the box. It was heavy, but not overly so. Inwardly sighing he made his way up the stairs and toward the infirmary.


	4. No Such Data Exists

Three was the first one to reach the room, followed closely by One and Four. The doors silently slid open as they neared.

"Guys, we found food who wants?" Three called out in greeting. One and Four followed as Three entered. Three tossed protein bars to Six and Five. Four placed the metal box down and stepped towards the back of the room. He was sore and tired. He didn't want any unnecessary attention. He noticed Five sitting on a gurney fiddling with something that looked broken. She hadn't touched her protein bar.

"Ugh! You sure?" Six turned to look at Three. "Close enough. What's up with the robot?" Three replied. Four allowed the conversation to flow around him. Two calmly explained again that the android was linked to the ship and that, no, we could not space her: she was no longer a threat. Four's hand stayed on the handle of his katana as he took stock of everything that had happened today. Waking up with amnesia, to fighting a skilled android, to –

"Whoa, we are not waking that thing up!" One spoke up next to Four drawing his attention. Four agreed with the man that it was a risk but now they knew how to shut her down. Four couldn't remember being one for unnecessary danger, and he wouldn't become that person now. He could protect himself should the need arise but he hoped it never did.

"The diagnostic suggests she possesses some sort of neural link with the ships mainframe. Once she's back on line, she'll be able to run a more effective repair command. She'll have us space worthy in no time." Two's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Four watched no one's expression change from fear to acceptance. He kept his face an unreadable mask as he mulled over Two's diagnosis. Being space worthy meant getting somewhere he could get answers.

Two looked at their faces for support and found none.

"She may also have some answers for us, if anybody's curious" Two's tone betrayed her frustration but her words seemed to sink in as Four watched the defensive posture of the people surrounding him melt away. Might's and maybe's seemed to be good enough for them but he would reserve judgement until he had something concrete.

One seemed to have come to a decision as he reached for his gun. "Okay," he said pointing it at the still motionless robot. "Start her up." Four, still leery after his encounter with the android drew his sword and placed it behind his neck. This would help disguise it from the android's immediate line of sight preventing an unnecessary attack, but should the need arise his stance would make it easy to bring the blade arcing down for the killing blow. H was prepared.

Three still seemed against the idea and looked to Six for support. When Six shrugged and reached for his rifle, Three sighed and gave into peer pressure drawing his own weapon and pointing it at the robot. Five remained huddled where she was seated but Four could see her hands tighten on whatever she had been messing with earlier.

Two gently inserted a chip into the android's neck causing her to raise her arm. Four heard the swift intake of breath around him and saw Five's eyes go wide with fear. He readied his sword for the kill stroke should the robot make even the slightest threatening move.

One spoke first "What's your name?" The android clenched and unclenched her fist. "I possess no personal designation." She had not moved from her vulnerable position, but Four remained vigilant for the slightest sign of trouble. "Yeah, there's a lot of that going around." Six responded.

One spoke again. "Why did you attack us?" The fear and tension were palpable in the small infirmary. The whole room seemed to brace for her answer. Her calm response was slightly unnerving. "I have no memory of such an attack." After a moment, Two snapped, and nodded as if that somehow made sense. "The reboot must have wiped her data stores." Three glared at the robot, gun still rock steady, pointed at her head. "Well ain't that convenient."

The robot sat up and Four readied his sword. Suddenly everyone's weapon was pointed at her head. Then Five stood up. She walked forward, within arm's reach of the android. Four looked at her and subtly shook his head. This was not the time to be a peace maker. Four's grip tightened on the handle of his blade. He could feel the leather giving way under his fingers as his nails dug deeper in. If the android so much as blinked too hard he was going to see how well she could run an effective repair command while decapitated.  
Two seemed to sense the rising tension. She walked with her hands up, the galactic sign of peace, and stood directly in front of the android.

"I want you to initiate a neural link with the ship's computer. Can you do that?" Two's tone was authoritative but gentle. It seemed she too didn't want to trigger another attack. The android eyes tracked around the room lingering a little too long on Five for Four's comfort. If the robot was looking for the weak link physically, Five seemed to be it. "Of course," she responded in that same eerily calm voice.

"Now I want you to access any and all data related to the passengers onboard this ship." As Two continued to issue her commands Four readied himself for whatever information the robot would provide. Knowledge is power, and power is control. "No such data exists." The androids voice seemed to fill the room, not because she had raised her voice but because Four could hear the other's holding their breath. "Any information in the ship's records about its crew, or its mission?" One asked. Four noticed his gun was still aimed at her head. He had not yet waivered.

"No such data exists." One glanced at Four and Four met his eyes. Neither knew what to make of this. It seemed impossible. Data doesn't just get erased. Never the less Four would get answers. The robot could have made it easier, but her lack of intel would not deter him.

"How's that possible?" Six asked no one in particular. Two's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Its - it's not. The ship's programming is highly sophisticated. There are redundancies in place to guard against data loss… someone must have deliberately deleted that information." Two's voice slowly lost certainty as she reasoned out the current situation. Five glanced at Six and then at Four. Four met her eyes, filled with very real fear.. To break the intense gaze, Four looked to One. One looked at him briefly, eyes wide with understanding, before bringing his eyes back to the android.


	5. Stand Down

No one spoke. Four could feel the tension rising in the room. He was already suspicious of this seemingly random group of people, but thinking that one of them intentionally tampered with the ship's hard drive churned his gut. Or the android could have done it. Four trusted no one, least of all the thing that had attacked him earlier. His katana remained pointed at the android.

Five stared at the robot, seemingly entranced. Her blue eyes roamed over the features seeming to drink her in. Four watched as she reached out to touch her, only to be stopped by Two. "I don't think that's the best idea, sweetie." Six spoke. He too had yet to lower his weapon.

Five turned to face him exasperated. "If she were going to hurt me she's had plenty of chances to do it. You all have weapons pointed at her. If she still had that security protocol, wouldn't it have been triggered?" As she spoke she turned and looked each of the men in the eye, stopping at Four. Four held her gaze but kept his weapon where it was.

"Maybe she knows she couldn't take all of us." Three spoke. His eyes gleamed with something between mischief and anger. Two rolled her eyes. "If she wanted to she could probably take us all out without lifting a finger. All she'd have to do is cut off the oxygen supply." One visibly blanched at this assessment and looked at Two. Four finally broke the eye contact he and Five had been holding to stare at the android. Partly because he wanted to be in position to stop her if she attacked and partly because staring into Five's eyes felt strangely… intimate.

"I would not do that. I have no such memory of an attack. I do not wish to harm any of you." The android's calm voice once again rang out in the silent room. They stayed like that for a few more seconds. Men pointing weapons, android sitting calmly, Two clearly annoyed, and-Four glanced distractedly at the girl-Five seemingly fascinated by something on the floor.

Finally, Six sighed and lowered his gun. "We either trust it or we don't. We can't stand guard all day." One glanced around the room and followed suit. Then he turned, looking at Four expectantly. Four didn't believe they were safe but decided the best course of action would be to prevent any further violence or escalate the situation. He slowly sheathed his blade and stepped back.

All eyes in the room turned to Three. He lowered his gun but maintained his defensive posture. Four could see the tension in his shoulders and the protruding vein in his neck.

"There's still plenty of ship left unexplored," Two began. "We'll split up. One, Three and Four, take the east wing. Six.." she turned to face the man. "I think I'll just stay here. I need some time to recuperate after, the uh, incident." Five walked back towards the gurney and sat down. "I'll stay here with him." Two looked at the android. "You're with me." The android stood up causing Three to raise his gun. Two sighed and marched out the room, back stiff with annoyance. The android followed without preamble.

One looked at Three and rolled his eyes. Not bothering to see if Three and Four followed, One headed out the door. Three chuckled and followed him, trailed by Four. "Hey, One! Which one of us do you think did it?" Three's voice rang out as his feet carried him closer to One. Four hung back, still wary of the people on board the ship.

"It wasn't necessarily one of us."

"Yeah, then who the hell was it?"

Four could hear the frustration in the tightness of One's voice. "It's a big ship, lots of places to hide. Maybe there's someone else on board. Although we'd have to find them eventually so I'm not sure what would be the point." Four's hand came to rest once again on the hilt of his blade. He had no desire to have any more surprise run-in's. If it were him, he would hide until they were vulnerable, and then strike. Snuff his opponents out long before they even knew he was there.

Three and One continued to bicker as Four realized they were nearing the locker room. He recognized different markings and lights on the walls. The exploration came to halt as Three began to question One's innocence on the grounds of he was the first to wake up. After his own defense fell on deaf ears he turned and looked to Four for support.

"You could jump in here anytime you know." Four was not one to vouch for other's sakes. A man should defend his own name. He remained silent and instead broke away from the group to further explore the locker room. There was something niggling in his mind, like a scene from a dream he could no longer remember. He knew there was something there, something important. He just didn't know what or where or how he knew.

He walked along the identical lockers and allowed instinct to take over. With closed eyes he felt along until he found himself opening one. He searched for something, anything that would provide him with some clue as to who he was. Upon find nothing he gently closed the door and moved on to the next one. He again felt around tapping, looking for any indication as to what kind of past he had. Discovering a hollow space along the top of the locker he pulled away what should have been the back of the locker to reveal a small box.

Pulling it out to examine it he looked for indications of a lock. Based on his knowledge of his skill set he seemed like a man slow to trust. Layered things were like him, he could understand them so this box should be a simple puzzle for him. However, he found nothing. There was no obvious opening and therefore no obvious lock. The box was seamless and smooth. As he went to put it back in the hidden compartment he felt the engines roar to life as the ship began to rocket forward.


	6. Gravity

As Four reached to place the strange box back in its hiding place his feet began to drift off the metal floor. Unnerved he scrambled to find purchase on the outstretched door of the locker. His feet continued to drift upwards so that within a few seconds his body lay parallel with the floor. In this position his stomach and neck were exposed to any attacks from below. Feeling vulnerable he let go of the metal door to reach for his sword. No sooner had he let go, the artificial gravity kicked back on, and he found himself falling onto the unforgiving metal.

Struggling to catch his breath for the second time that day, he sucked in large gulps of air replacing the wind that had just been knocked out of him. He rolled over and stared at the box. Whatever it was, it had not broken or opened, it was secure. You don't secure something unless it has value. If it's valuable, chances are in the wrong hands it's also dangerous. Four slid the box into one of the many pockets in his pants and forced himself to sit up. Taking stock of his injuries, he figured he was generally unharmed and decided to stand and resume his search for whoever might still be aboard the ship.

Surging to his feet, he found his body was quite a bit more banged up than previously thought. In his current state his movements were slower. Speed and agility are nearly as important as skill and cunning in a battle. With this in mind he heaved an inner sigh and made his way back to the infirmary.

"Everyone come to the infirmary. Someone just attacked us." Two's voice rang out in his ear. Since everyone was going to the infirmary he hurried to get there earlier and get something to help with his pain without drawing too much attention. If he got there before One, he wouldn't have to deal with him pointing out the obvious that some of the less observant passengers might have missed.

As the automated doors opened, he saw Six kneeling over a motionless Five. Previous discomfort forgotten, he rushed forward sword sliding from its sheath as Six turned to face him.

"Whoa. She hit her head when the gravity came back on." Six softly pushed the blade away and cradled Five in his arms placing her gently on the gurney. Four opened his mouth to respond as Two and the Android rushed in. He sheathed his katana and stepped away from the group. His eyes noted everything but never looked away from Five.

"What happened?" Two asked looking accusingly at Six.

"She hit her head when the gravity kicked back on. Speaking of which, why did it shut off?" Six said. He began stroking Five's face and hair trying to slowly wake her up.

"Whoever attacked us launched missiles," Two said reaching to run her fingers through Five's hair. "We out ran the missiles, but it temporarily cost us gravity." Two took a step back and looked at Four. She gave him a quick once over assuring herself of no serious injuries as Five's eyes began to flutter.

"Hey." Six spoke softly. Two's face lit up in a smile.

"Wh-what happened?" Five's voice seemed a little shaky but Four felt the knots he hadn't noticed in his stomach relax. Four watched as Two's smile became a little watery.

"We lost gravity for a few seconds there. When it came back on, we all took a tumble. You hit your head on the way down." Four respected Six for not making Five feel weak for being the only one visibly injured. It could have been any of them.

"I did?" Five looked towards Two who nodded slightly while Six said, "Yeah."

"You okay?" Six asked

"Yeah, I think so," Five said as she struggled to sit up. Once upright she looked towards where the infirmary doors were opening as One and Three strode into the room. Two slowly regained her authoritative posture as Six stepped back. Four remained where he was but stood motionless not wanting to call unnecessary attention to himself but wanting it to be clear that he was alert and ready for danger. He didn't expect any of these people to attack him but so far he had no reason to believe they wouldn't.

One stopped when he reached the table Five was sitting on and spoke as he looked around seemingly assessing the situation. "Any idea who attacked us?"

"None." Two said crossing her arms.

Three strode past everyone and headed straight for the medicine cabinet. "Maybe the robot had something to do with it." His voice seemed gruffer than earlier. Four could see he was clearly agitated and probably sore given he and Six had faced the accused robot's attack alone before One and Four arrived.

"I have no intention of harming anyone on this ship." The Android's voice still seemed robotically calm. If not for her voice, it would be difficult to distinguish her from a human upon first glance.

"Oh yeah except for the part where you nearly killed us all." Three said turning from the cabinet to walk towards the Android. His tone, even more hostile than before, caused Five to slowly draw her legs closer to herself looking down at the gurney. Four noticed and turned his body slightly, angling himself to be between Five and Three should an altercation arise. Five didn't seem to like confrontation given the reactions she'd displayed since she woke up. One also seemed to notice, as he subtly stepped forward putting himself in between Five and any potential violence.

"I have no memory of such an attack." The Android repeated.

"So you keep saying!" Three said stepping even closer.

"Alright, calm down." Six said. Either he had noticed Five's uneasiness or he was fed up with the childish bickering.

"Are you kidding me now?" Three said snapping his head towards Six. "I wake up a couple of hours ago, I got no idea who I am, how the hell I got here, nearly get killed by the forgetful robot, almost get blasted to scrag by some mysterious ship, and now we're floating in the middle of who-knows-where." As he spoke, Three looked between the Android and Six as if daring one of them to contradict him. He had valid points. It hadn't been the easiest day and first impressions could be hard to shake. Four could understand his mistrust of the Android, his fellow passengers, even that his temper was short due to the unpleasant and probably painful circumstances they found themselves in. However, unlike Three, Four knew that voicing these complaints would solve nothing and therefore were not worth the energy it would take to voice them.

"Actually, we do know where." The Android said. "We're on course for a nearby inhabited world."

This seemed to shock even Two who seemed to be the unofficial leader so far. "We are?" Two asked.

The Android looked at Two. "Before we were attacked I initiated a recovery program in order to salvage recently deleted and overwritten data." Although androids are robots and robots don't feel emotion, Four could swear she almost sounded… proud.

"You can do that?" One asked in surprise.

"The process is time consuming," the Android said turning to face him. "And most of the information is irretrievable. However, I have managed to salvage some data." For the first time since entering the infirmary, Four looked away from Five to glance at the Android. Whatever information she had would be helpful. Even the things that seemed insignificant like the box currently nestled in his pocket, could prove to be the key to unlocking the mystery surrounding their lost memories. He noticed this too caused Five to finally look up and stare at the Android.

"What kind of data?" Three asked. His voice had lost some of its hostility. Five's eyes were wide as she looked at Four for the first time since she'd woken up. His gaze remained on the android but he could feel her eyes fleetingly rest on his face before she turned her attention back to the Android.

"The ships original destination. We should be arriving in less than 12 hours." The Android seemed to be looking right at Two as she spoke. Four watched as Five looked at Two and then back at him. He could see she was excited but the worry lines on her face gave away her fear. She averted her eyes and began fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket. Everyone else looked around the room before eventually their eyes came to rest on Two. Four forced himself to look away from the teal curls now concealing Five's face to stare at the impassive mask of their unofficial leader.


	7. Sunrise

"What else can you tell us?" Two asked looking at the android. Four figured she would have said more if there was more to tell but kept silent. His eyes drifted away from Five to rest briefly on Six. In general, when one threatens death unnecessarily, apologies tend to be in order. Although, if he were trying to kill him, Six would be dead. And given what he'd observed of the others onboard this ship, he doubted any of them would adhere to common courtesy. Granted, he had no idea how he knew what was courteous or not but still, he'd have to find a way to apologize. No sense in making an enemy out of someone who could be a useful ally over something as silly as pride.

"…that is all the information I was able to recover." The Androids animatronic voice broke his train of thought.

"Well, no sense in standing around here all day." Three said still eyeing the Android. "I'm going to go look around. Still a whole lot of ship left unexplored." Turning, Three strode out the door. One sighed and followed him out. Two rolled her eyes swallowing a retort and all but marched out of the infirmary.

"I must run some diagnostic tests. If you need me, I'll be in the cargo bay." The Android said. While she didn't seem to be addressing anyone in particular, if she were human, Four would almost swear she was talking to Five. Must be an operating system thing.

With the room cleared of all but Four, Five, and Six, Four felt now was the time to issue an apology.

"Six, about earlier," Four started. As soon as he started talking Five's head snapped up. She looked at Four questioningly. Four fought the need to return her gaze and held eye contact with Six. If a man can't look you in the eye, he can certainly stab you in the back.

"Don't worry about it." Six said. "Probably would have done the same thing in your position." Apology now issued and accepted Four finally gave in and returned Five's gaze. She raised her eyebrows, expecting some sort of explanation. Four's mask slipped slightly as he felt the corner of his mouth tugging upward. Something inside him settled as they stared at each other.

What seemed like forever must have been only half a minute when their gaze was broken by Six tossing a med pack at Four. Six must have figured out why he got to the infirmary first. Smart. Unfortunately, he underestimated how far away Four was. As the pack sailed through the air headed straight for Five's head, Four stepped closer and snatched it. Five smiled at him, and mouthed a thank you. Her smile was like seeing the sunrise on the ocean. So beautiful, so serene you just wanted to bask in the magic of the moment. For the first time since waking up Four felt peaceful. Unable to deny the infectiousness of her smile, his mouth curved up in a slight grin as he stared at his sunrise.

Realizing he was showing Six far more of himself than he was comfortable with, Four reluctantly broke eye contact and stepped back.

Nodding at the pair in the infirmary he turned and left. He needed to clear his head, so he headed for the training room.  
As the motion sensor lights illuminated the area, he began to walk around the room. Passing the table where he found the katanas, he found a holster similar to the one currently strapped to him lying on the ground. Lifting it he found it filled with several types of knives. Some seemed better for hand to hand combat, while others seemed lighter and more useful for throwing.

Picking it up he found his mind unable to focus on trying the blades, still consumed by Five's smile. It had reached her eyes and they lit up like… He shook his head to try to regain his focus. He needed something to distract him from thinking of her. As he strapped the holster to his leg, he felt the box in his pocket. Five had managed to distract him from finding answers.

Straightening, he left the training room, nearly running into One.

"I found bunks." One said, in answer to the question in Four's eyes. Four nodded his head indicating he would follow. Following behind One, Four found his mind wandering back to Five's eyes when she smiled. She looked at him as if…

The duo came to a sudden halt as One pointed towards a corridor. Uncharacteristically One had remained silent the entire trip and even now left Four standing there as he walked towards one of the doors. Without looking back, he opened the door and walked in. Four found himself slightly confused by the shift in behavior, but chalked it up to something Three said.

Walking down the hallway, Four picked the easiest room to defend should there be an attack and entered. Removing his several holsters, he sat down on the bed with a sigh. Opening the med pack Six had given him, he decided on a dissolvable pain reliever that seemed the least likely to have an adverse effect. He pulled the box out of his pocket and began to gently run his fingers over it. He needed to figure out what was in this box. Suddenly he heard a click. It seemed he had pushed some sort of panel out. After several more minutes of fruitless fondling, he placed the box in the stand beside his bed.

"Everybody pick a room and get some rest." Two's voice once again boomed from the intercom. "We'll be dropping out in 10 hours."

Four laid down, beginning to feel the effects of the medicine. His body had been through the ringer, combine that with early awakening from the stasis pod and he found himself drowsy. As he began to drift off, he felt his lips curve upwards as he thought about sunrises.


	8. Landing

Feeling the stirrings of awareness arising, Four closed his eyes tighter and fought to slip back into peaceful slumber. He'd been having such a good dream. After lying there for several moments, he realized that whatever pleasantries his subconscious created had slipped from his grasps and he was awake.

Sitting up he reached for his comm sitting on the bedside table.

"Status report." His voice, still laced with sleep, came out gruffer than he intended.

"Well good morning to you too," Two said jokingly. "Another hour before we drop out. You, One, Three, Six, and the Android are going to go check it out. I'll try to contact them when we get a little closer. If you haven't already, get up, get ready and then head to the shuttle."

Standing, Four shuffled towards the bathroom in his bunk. While his body automatically went through the steps of preparing for a day his mind focused on what they might find. If they were met with violence, he wasn't sure he could count on any of the others. However, given the deadly performance he'd put on in the training room yesterday, he was certain he wouldn't go down without a fight.

As he dressed in the clothes from the drawers he calculated what strengths and weaknesses his shipmates would probably demonstrate when they landed. Three seemed likely to get them into trouble with his abrasive personality, but he was also likely to cut his losses and not stay to play hero.

Four could respect that.

One and Six on the other hand seemed likely to get along nicely with the locals. Both would probably have trouble leaving if the residents told them their tale of woe. Four figured the Android was there mostly for transport reasons and therefore irrelevant to any interactions they may have on the surface. He knew how he would react to whatever the locals would present. If they were violent they would be met with violence. If they were hospitable, he would be cordial. If they were in need he would likely leave them to their own devices. Given their current lack of memories, playing hero didn't seem like the best idea. He wasn't even sure if they were heroes.

Armed and dressed, Four headed towards the shuttle. He was the first one ready, apparently. The Android stood waiting outside the doors with protein bars. Handing one to Four, she opened the doors and allowed him access to the vessel. Four decided to sit behind the passenger seat. If he sat all the way in the back, his reaction time to any attack would be delayed due to the bodies between him and the attackers. If he sat in the front and they were met with gun fire, he could easily be shot. Seeing as the driver is more likely to be shot at, he decided behind the first passenger seat would probably be best.

He ate in silence as the others trickled in. Six came first and sat in front of Four. The Android took the pilot seat as they waited for One and Three's arrival. Their wait was a short one, as One, Two, and Three came striding toward the shuttle.

"Hey," Six, ever the one for pleasantries.

"Hey," Two replied.

One and Three followed behind her. One sat down next to Four and gave him a quick nod as greeting.

"What happened to you?" Six asked as Three shuffled in.

"I roll around a lot in my sleep." Three huffed as he dropped his bulk down onto the seat behind Four.

"We tried communicating with whoever is down there," Two began drawing the men's attention, "but received no response."

"Could be a tech issue," One offered.

"Could be a lot of things." Two said with a pointed stare. "Fly safe." She said turning to leave.

Four barely kept from smirking as the other three men turned to watch her as she walked away. She was visually appealing but Four was not attracted to her. He wasn't distracted by her. Apparently, his shipmates were.

"Damn." Six said as they all turned back around. With a slight jolt the shuttle disconnected from the ship and began its journey to the ground.

"This ship have a name?" Six asked the Android.

"It's a Phantom-class Marauder." She replied.

"Marauder." Six said approvingly. "Nice."

As the shuttle neared the surface Four heard Three power up his gun.

"There's no reason to assume the inhabitants will be hostile." The Android said.

"No reason to assume they won't be." Three said. Four was inclined to agree with him. Four was just as heavily armed as Three. He wore his katana around his waist, and the holster full of blades he'd found around his thigh. He also had several guns he'd found in his room earlier strapped to his ankles and his back. All were easily concealed by the dark clothing and jacket he was wearing. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. He was armed to his teeth. He just wasn't as obvious about it.

The ship gracefully landed near a settlement. As the men exited the shuttle, they each drew a weapon. Apparently they all agreed with Three.

"Remember we're just looking for answers," One said to no one in particular. "We're not here to cause trouble."

As they entered the nearest building a voice rang out. "That's far enough." People began emerging, weapons pointed straight at them. There was at least 20 hostiles that Four could see. He heard the thud of boots against dirt behind them. Sounded like three or four pairs of feet. They were surrounded.

"Remind me to tell that robot I told you so," Three grumbled to Six.

"Who are you?" The man asked them. His voice was hard demanding attention and respect. His blonde hair was littered with grays showing his age. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth showed he smiled often, but the lines permanently creasing his forehead showed worry was never far from his mind. He seemed to be in charge. Stands to reason, you take him out, the rest of them would scatter. Four saw Three subtly shifted his stance so that his gun was pointed at the man's head. From this angle he had a clear shot.

"Why are you here?" The man asked. Four heard a gun cock behind them and slowly began to turn so that his gun would be pointed at the assailants behind them. Any sudden movements and there would be a fire fight. With One, Three, and Six in the direct line of fire all he had to do was take out the people behind him and he could easily make his escape.

"Yeah I was afraid those questions would come up." Three mumbled under his breath.

"They're not corporate guard." The woman next to the man spoke up. Her features were soft but the firm line of her lips showed she had a backbone. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a haphazard pony tail, tendrils coming loose to frame her face. She looked like a younger, more feminine version of the man in charge. "They could be Hothgar's people."

"Did Hothgar send you?" The man asked. The fact that he listened to the woman meant he trusted her. You either trust someone because you love them, or because you know them, not just the illusion they project to the world. Four was betting on him loving her, given that they shared a striking resemblance.

"Maybe." Six replied.

"We didn't come here to hurt anyone," One began shakily. Four glanced at him in slight disbelief. Not just because he was speaking for the group, or because he was pretty sure Three had planned on hurting someone, but because his false bravado had to be apparent to the group now surrounding them. One briefly met his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Or get hurt."

"Especially that last part." Six muttered under his breath.

"So why don't we just lower our weapons," One said slowly lowering his gun. This time Three and Six joined Four in staring at One as if he had lost his mind. Four's reflexes were good but he wasn't sure he could respond in time to a bullet. He was not going to put himself in danger on the slight chance that the guns still pointed at them would be put down in a show of peace.

Surprisingly, the leader began to lower his gun and his people followed suit.

"All of us." One demanded staring at Three. Four slowly lowered his gun, but rested his hand on his katana hilt. Begrudgingly Three lowered his gun. Four noticed his finger was still on the trigger. Three was definitely slow to trust. The hostiles who were behind them walked around them, coming to stand in line with the man.

"Follow me." He said.


	9. The Raza

The group of men followed in silence as they were led down a corridor to what looked to be a mess hall. One and Six led them, while Three and Four filed in behind. Three's eyes stayed locked on the people in front of them, his jaw clenched in frustration. Four's mind automatically began to note structural strengths, weaknesses, exits, and vantage points. Despite the lowering of weapons, he could feel in his gut that blood would be shed.

When they entered the mess hall, the congregation which had gathered to greet the men dispersed as people went about their daily routines A large black man with a salt n pepper beard patted the leader on the back as he passed. He was the bulkiest of the group, standing out against the shrunken thin bodies of the other inhabitants. The younger woman whispered "Thanks Karl," as he passed. The man, the younger woman, and a new dark haired woman sat down at one of the tables and gestured for the men to follow suit. One sat next to the younger woman, as a girl, barely a teenager, came and poured drinks for the group. Four noticed that none of his travel companions moved to touch the beverages until their hosts drank some of the mysterious liquid.

Three unceremoniously snatched a cup and leaned against a nearby pillar. Four faded into the background as Six gave a shortened version of their tale. He left out the amnesia. Smart man. The man, finally deciding to trust them introduced himself as Nassan. The girl was his daughter, Mirielle. The dark haired woman, Keeley, was his second in command.

"You say your ship was attacked?" Nassan asked looking at One. He sounded skeptical. Four didn't blame him. If the roles were reversed he'd need a little more than word of mouth to believe that a group of strangers armed with enough weapons to protect a city just so happened to land on his planet after "being attacked."

"Well, we're not exactly –" One's train of thought was interrupted by Three. "Raiders. Came at us out of nowhere, disabled our engines, looted our ship, left us for dead." Given the small arsenal the men were currently sporting, Four didn't think it was likely that Nassan would believe this well spun web of lies Three confidently fed him.

Lucky for them, Keeley, who had been discreetly eyeing Three, seemed to buy it. "You're lucky to be alive." Four saw the man side-eye her questioningly, but allowed her to take control of the conversation.

"Wouldn't be if we hadn't managed to restore life support." Three said grinning slightly at her. "With nav systems down, we were flying blind. We got lucky, picked up your settlement on out long range scanners." Three's voice never wavered. He was good at lying. He sprinkled just enough truth in for it be believable. At the center of every good lie is a grain of truth.

Mirielle who had remained silent thus far finally spoke. "Wow," seemed she believed him too. "Well, you're welcome to re-supply, and help yourselves to whatever you need." She said glancing at her father for approval. A nearly imperceptible nod was his only reply to his daughter's generous offer. "But," she began looking at the table, "then you best be off."

Four could not imagine this situation being anymore beneficial for the crew. They were being offered supplies, and an escape route? There had to be a catch. This was nearly too good to be true.

"Why's that?" Six asked. Either he was looking for a catch or he actually cared about these strangers.

"We're expecting trouble." Nassan said turning to look Six. The tightness in his hands and the way Mirielle clenched her fists told Four just how much "trouble" they were expecting. Too much for comfort.

"This is an independent colony," Keeley began. "We pull enough atrium out of the ground to get by, but we've never been of interest to any of the big multi-corps." She said glancing at Nassan for… something. Guidance? Permission? Four couldn't quite read the relationship between those two. "That is until now." She ended sounding defeated.

"You hit a big strike?" Six asked.

Nassan sighed. "It was a couple of Ferrous Corporation geologists. Surveying the nearby asteroid belt. Apparently they found the mother lode." His eyes roamed the faces of the men as he spoke meeting each of their gazes. He wasn't asking for pity or help. He was letting them know the way things were and warning them off. Four respected the man for being willing to fight his own battles.

"But without a Hab-1 planet in the vicinity," Keeley spoke, "It would be too expensive to extract. They need a place to house the miners, grow food, source fresh water."

"Some place like here?" Six questioned. Four conceded that the man was good at extracting information. He cared just enough for his questions to sound genuine without sounding like he was invested in the lives of strangers or trying to learn about them in order to locate their weaknesses.

"It's a big planet." One said naively. Four couldn't remember how he knew this but he knew people with power like Ferrous Corp, and they don't share well. They want it all and will do what they have to get it, whatever it may be. In this case, it was a planet.

"It's not big enough so far as they're concerned," Keeley said. "The multi-corps don't share planetary resources. It minimizes the risks of outsiders interfering with their operations." Mirielle's gaze once again found the table as the second explained the severity of the "trouble" Nassan had warned about.

"As long as we work this claim we have legal title," Nassan said. His voice seemed to rouse Mirielle who sat up and looked at her father.

"But if we were to leave, or if something should happen to us… well, you get the idea."

"So that's why you wanna be long gone before the Raza gets here." Keeley said looking between Nassan and Three.

"The Raza?" One asked. Now Four was actually interested. Whatever threatened these people might one day threaten him. He needed to know more about the Raza so he could better protect himself should he ever face them.

"They work as enforcers for the multi-corps. They clean up loose ends, trouble spots – like us." Nassan said.

"They're aliens," Keeley's voice shook as she spoke. "They're half man, half reptile, and I've heard they're over seven feet tall, and they have skin that burns to the -" Keeley's delusional rambling was cut short by Nassan's sharp voice.

"The fact is no one really knows what they are, because no one's ever survived an encounter with them." While it was a much more realistic description of the Raza, Four found himself much more worried about Nassan's version. Aliens could be written off, but assassins are very real-and very dangerous.


	10. Supplies

Nassan sighed and stood. "You best be getting what's needed and hurrying on out of here. Trouble could be coming any day." Four stood from where he had been seated and followed their hosts into what appeared to be a storage facility.

He and his shipmates looked through containers searching for medical supplies, rations, anything they might need. This near mechanical task left his mind clear to ponder this new information. These people were in danger, and he could feel the storm coming as real as if it were raining. They knew it was coming and had chosen to fight. If a man won't fight for what he wants he doesn't deserve it. He respected the people of this planet for their courage and tenacity in the face of, from what they've told him, near certain death. A small, nearly nonexistent voice whispered that maybe he and his shipmates could help. However, a much louder voice screamed to listen to his gut and cut his losses. He owed these people no kindness and no aid. Good people died every day and it wasn't his responsibility to prevent that.

To take on such a heavy weight is to take on the world, and no one's shoulders are broad enough to carry that.

As they finished collecting supplies from the locals, Four heard One trying to convince Nassan to cut his losses. Although he couldn't remember his life before waking up yesterday, Four understood that once a person got to a place like this planet, it tended to mean they didn't have anywhere else to go. Fighting for your home, dying for your home, is admirable. It's not a decision made lightly and thusly easily changed. Four understood One, though. He didn't seem like the type to walk away when he thought there was a chance he could help.

Six decided to join in the banter that was essentially white noise now. The back and forth was unnecessary and useless. Four focused on ensuring there would be no more surprises on this planet. Focused as he was, Four didn't miss Nassan saying they were expecting a shipment of weapons similar to the ones he and the others currently carried. Interesting coincidence or decent play at asking for help, Four couldn't quite decide.

Waiting at the entrance for the conclusion of the conversation, Four wasn't surprised when One lingered to talk to Mirielle. Apparently her necklace was of interest to him.

The walk back to the shuttle was filled with tense silence as the men carried their supplies. However, upon reaching the ship One apparently felt the need to break it.

"This isn't right. Am I the only person who heard what they said?" he asked accusingly. "A shipment of arms? Obviously we were meant to help these people."

"We don't know that," Three said dismissively.

"And the fact that we've got a cargo hold full of weapons, that's a coincidence?" One countered. Four watched impassively. While it did seem plausible that the weapons currently on their ship could be to help these people, it wasn't their fight.

"You're forgetting one important detail. The scary lizard people that are coming to destroy this planet!" Three growled out. "I'm guessing you don't want to be here when they show up." Four saw One's face fall a little. Three made a good point.

"Okay, I admit that part sounded bad-" One began.

"Alright, lets table this discussion until we're back on the ship, alright?" Six, ever the calm headed voice of reason shut down what Four could see becoming a long and drawn out argument. He sighed inwardly. Six didn't really shut it down, just paused it. There would be more useless banter back aboard the ship. Without another word the men all returned to their original seats and flew in silence.


	11. The Vote

The silence continued even after the shuttle docked and the supplies were unloaded. It was finally broken by Two's voice over the intercom.

"Five and I fixed food if you're hungry. The mess is down the hall, third door on the left." Four found he was hungrier than he expected to be. They weren't down on the planet for more than 3 hours but between the almost fighting and carrying supplies, his body had used up a decent amount of energy. He followed his shipmates, Six leading the way as they headed towards the promise of food.

Two and Five were already seated when the men entered. The table was set for six. Six walked in first and sat at the head of the table. One sat next to Two, across from Six. Three sat next to Six, across from Two. The only available seat by the time Four entered the room was across from Five. He was secretly pleased to get to sit across from her but kept his face impassive as he served himself a decent portion of the rehydrated food before them. Only after his plate and cup were full did he allow himself the luxury of looking at her.

She looked well rested and didn't appear to have been harmed while they were away. He didn't think she would be but given the lack of memory, one could never be too careful. He found himself discretely staring at her as Six, Three and One relayed what happened on the planet. His arm mechanically brought food to his mouth as watched her emotive face react to their expedition. When Three started describing the aliens they'd been warned about she looked away from him, and caught Four's gaze.

Her blue eyes were once again wide with fear, and Four hated it. Hated the sheen he could see forming as she fought back tears. Was she that frightened? Or did her heart break for the natives left to fend off such monsters? She smiled reassuringly at Four and turned her attention back to the conversation. Four suddenly found his food very interesting until One and Three began to argue.

"I'm telling you, we're supposed to be helping these people," One said. "The matching pendants? It can't be a coincidence."

"All I'm saying," Three began despite the food currently inhabiting in his cheeks, "is even if we're supposed to be helping these people, which I doubt. Doesn't mean we're gonna do it." Four watched Five's face scrunch up in disapproval.

"We don't even know what happened to us," Two's calm voice seemed to cut through the anger filling the air surrounding One and Three.

"Or how we're gonna get our memories back. And those weapons," she said turning to face One, "would fetch a very good price on the open market." She looked around the table as she spoke. "The money would go a long way – "

"Except they're already paid for." One all but shouted. His voice calmed. "They belong to the miners."

"Doesn't matter if they belong to the miners," Three's anger and frustration was nearly palpable as his venom soaked words fell on One's deaf ears. "They're in our cargo hold. They belong to us now."

Tempers were really beginning to heat up and Four found himself worried not about his safety, but the mental wellbeing of Five. She didn't need to be exposed to the violent and explosive side of these men Four feared would be revealed soon.

"Those people will die if we don't help them." Six said. Four could take no more of the idealistic ramblings of One, nor the selfish gluttony of Three. This conversation should have been over long before they got back on the ship.

"They're already dead." Four said, looking down at his plate. He didn't want to see Five flinch at the pessimism in his voice. Even looking at his plate, he still saw her visceral reaction out of his peripheral. All eyes turned to him. He felt them boring into him questioningly. He ignored them focusing on the empty plate in front of him.

However, he could feel some of the tension leaving the air. "He doesn't say much but when he does, it makes sense," Three said in a surprisingly calm and collected voice.

All of his shipmates had valid points but the one he needed Two to understand was the severity of the danger. Even safe, back on the ship the hairs on the back of his neck still stood up as if expecting an attack any second. He looked up from his plate and looked at her.

"If their enemy is even half as powerful as they believe, then they're doomed." Two met Four's gaze and seemed to understand the very real danger that was coming towards the natives. Four looked away and found himself faced with a head of curly turquoise hair, attached to a bowed head.

The ever tenacious One tried again. "The least we can do is give them a fighting chance."

"I'm pretty sure the least we can do is nothing." Three countered. "Which, for the record, is what I'm suggesting we do."

"Alright," Two said, effectively cutting off any further discussion. "Let's put it to a vote."

"Fine," Three said confrontationally. "I vote that we keep the weapons, we sell them, take what we make to stay alive and find out what the hell happened to us." Four understood the man's logic. They would need supplies again and not every planet will be as hospitable as this one.

"Agreed." Four said. Those settlers may want, may even need those weapons, but Four figured they didn't stand a chance regardless and there was no point giving them false hope. Maybe if the weapons never came, they would run, or surrender; prevent the loss of life. It was better if they didn't get the weapons for all involved parties. Four wanted to get the ship, and the people on it, as far away from the trouble that caused his gut to curl in knots.

"I think we do what we know we came here to do," One said. "Complete the delivery."

"He's right," Six said. "I say we help those people."

"Thank you," One whispered.

"Yeah me too, I want to help those people." Five said looking up. Four found himself wanting to smile at the conviction in her voice.

"Wait a minute, she can't vote." Three said. Four clenched his jaw at the audacity of Three but said nothing. No need to make an enemy when he could see anger flashing in Five's eyes.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"Cause you're a kid." Three said as if it were obvious. Five was young yes, but Four figured to be among men who thought like himself and spoke like Three, she probably wasn't as much of a child as Three was assuming she was.

"She's a member of this crew." Six said.

"Who's a kid! What are you like 15 years old?" Three said condescendingly. Four could see the anger and hurt play across Five's face and found himself leaning on years of forgotten patience to keep from shutting Three up with a fist to the jaw.

"Do we really have to have a vote to decide if she gets to vote?" Two asked, anger making her voice and body tense.

Three looked at Two as if she were crazy. "I vote against her voting." He said raising his arm.

Five leaned back, making a rude noise and crossing her arms, glaring daggers at Three.

Four stared down the rest of the table daring one of them to raise their hands. He doubted any of them would.

As Three realized no one was raising their hands, he turned and mumbled to Four, "Come on, throw up with me." Four finally let some of his anger grace his face as he rolled his eyes and looked at Five. She grinned at Four, and turned to smirk at Three.

Exasperated, Three brought his hand down, glaring at a clearly amused Two.

"Fine, three to two." Three said. "What do you say, boss lady?"

"Set half the crates aside. The rest go down to the surface." Two's voice booked no room for argument. Four found it was a diplomatic and well thought out solution to the moral conundrum they faced. The one flaw: they would have to go back down to the planet to deliver the weaponry. Four didn't want to chance being caught down there when the trouble met the settlers. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. One just rolled his eyes and stormed off.

"Clean up your tray pretty boy," Three called after him as he stood up. Five was clearly uncomfortable, but Four couldn't figure out why. Frustrated with Three and One's behavior, Four silently placed his tray in the sink and headed for the door. He needed to find a positive outlet for all this pent up aggression.


	12. The Raza Revealed

As Four made his way to the training room Two's authoritative voice again rang in his ear.

"We're doing the delivery now. Go get the crates and get to the shuttle." Four could almost see her lips tightening in anger and felt his shoulders clench up as he struggled to overcome his own frustration. He felt himself grinding his teeth as the doors to the training room slid shut and he made his way towards the cargo hold.

When he got there, One stood waiting next to a crate. Four saw no reason to wait for his shipmates. Three wasn't likely to be helpful, and Six was probably gearing up the shuttle for flight. He'd watched Six watch the android on the trip to and back from the planet. If anyone could fly it, it was Six.

"On the count of three," One muttered. "One. Two. Three!" With a grunt the crate left the ground and the two men shuffled it towards the shuttle. Neither spoke and Four was more than happy with that. His gut was still tight with anger due to Three's continually abrasive attitude, and this insane idea that they could help the settlers. Something bad was going to happen and Four could feel it. His fight or flight instincts were in full effect and right now he wanted to run. This wasn't their fight and it wasn't dishonorable to run from a fight that wasn't yours to begin with. Every time he thought of setting foot on that planet…

"Make sure to lift with the back," Three taunted as he toyed with a knife. "Helps take pressure off the knees."

"You know what would take the pressure off my knees?" One responded through gritted teeth. "You helping out." Four admired the backbone but felt engaging Three would only encourage him

Unfortunately, he was right.

"Yeah see, I think that'd be kinda hypocritical given the way I voted and all." Three said as Four and One set down the crate. Four walked towards his seat in an attempt to catch his breath. The crate was heavy and the cargo hold had been a fair distance away.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry," One said between pants. "I don't think it'd be possible for us to think any less of you."

"Well you never know." Three replied cheerfully. "I might surprise you." Three said more seriously. Prior to this, Four had only been half listening, but that last statement drew Four's attention. Three, as well as everyone else on the ship was a question mark, but that response put Three on Four's radar as he'd never been before. A true threat to his safety.

"Alright, I think that's it. We're good to go." One said eyeing the large crate they'd hauled to the shuttle. Just as they began to take their seats, Two's voice could be heard throughout the ship.

"I need everyone on the bridge. Now." Where before she had sounded angry, now she sounded scared, something even One seemed to pick up on.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"Just get up here," She said. Her voice breaking uncharacteristically. Four grabbed his katanas and followed One out of the shuttle. All of the men hurried in silence towards the bridge. If Two was that scared Five must be petrified, if she was still with her. Four found a small part of himself hoping Five had wandered back to the infirmary and not followed after Two.

As they entered the bridge Four found his eyes drawn to the flash of turquoise curls nearly hidden behind Two's taller frame.

"What's going on?" One asked.

"The Android managed to recover a significant amount of data related to this ship and its crew." Two said as she turned to greet the men. Four slid into the shadows at the back of the room, his gut sinking. He should be happy they knew more about themselves but the tension running through Two meant it couldn't be good news. Knowledge is power. Power is control. They had to learn sooner or later but the knots in his gut remained.

"Well that's good." Six said. 'Isn't it?" Four noticed Two kept her body between Five and the men's the entire time. She was protecting her. Why? What had changed in the last 20 minutes?

Then a moving picture of Three, captioned by a most wanted sign and a name appeared.

"Marcus Boone." The Android said in that calm mechanical voice. "Murder, assault, kidnapping, piracy." Four could see the man's entire demeanor change as his list of crimes was read off. Four was slightly surprised, not because Three seemed like such a good person, but he'd either done a lot of crime and been caught occasionally, or been caught every time he broke the law. Either way…

A moving picture of Six flashed across the screen. His too was captioned by a name and the most wanted sign.

"Griffin Jones." The Android began," Murder, assault, smuggling." Four watched the man freeze, as if his whole body rejected the information in front of him. He couldn't blame the man. It was never easy learning the truth and it often left the soul bleeding.

As the Android turned to face One, the screen once again housed a moving picture, this time of One, captioned by a most wanted sign and a name.

"Jace Corso." The robot's voice recited. "Murder, assault, kidnapping, trafficking, theft." Four could see the blow as if it were a physical one. One hunched over slightly and seemed to lose his breath. Four found it curious that his list of prosecutable crimes as longer than Three's. Either One had done more, of he'd been more careless. Four couldn't figure out which he wanted it to be.

Then, his gut bottomed out as a moving picture of himself, captioned with a most wanted sign and a name – Ryo Tetsudo flashed across the screen.

"Ryo Tetsudo: Murder, assault, piracy." The Android's voice once again listing their crimes as if they were inconsequential. Four found he could almost live with these charges. He had almost killed someone down on the planet today, and had been more than willing to assault someone. Piracy just meant he took something big. His chest hurt at the idea that he wasn't a pure soul, but deep down, he'd known. He was too skilled, too willing, and too quick to violence to have been innocent. With the arrival of this new information came quiet acceptance. Yesterday is history and solid as stone. There was nothing he could do to change it. He could only accept it and move on.

Finally, a moving picture of Two flashed across the screen, accompanied by once again a most wanted sign and a name.

"Portia Lin," The Android stated. "Murder, assault, arson, theft, piracy." Even though Four was sure she'd already heard her rap sheet, he still saw her jaw tighten as her crimes were listed. To conclude this depressing presentation of their dark pasts, the Android put their mug shots side by side. Four found a part of himself relieved not to see Five's face next to the rest of theirs. Her past must have been dark to land her among a group like themselves, but at least the law wasn't involved.

"Turns out the Raza aren't a race of aliens." Two said, voice still shaking. "'The Raza' is the name of this ship. We're not here to help these people. We're here to kill them."


	13. The Screen

"No," One protested. "That's impossible. That can't be right, can it?" He sounded afraid and defeated. His noble cause, helping the miners had been blown to bits by the harsh realization of their true natures. Four didn't blame him. Truth is a bitter pill, that's why it goes down better when its sugar coated.

"I recovered the information from a fragment of the ships logs related to the crew list," the android reassured. "There's no reason to doubt its veracity." Again, despite the mechanical way it prattled on, Four could almost hear a defensive note in the Android's voice.

"Of course not," Two said uncharacteristically gentle. Her voice was the only outward manifestation that indicated she was experiencing any kind of emotional turmoil. She maintained her casual, authoritative posture and position slightly between Five and the others.

"In fact it all makes perfect sense now," she continued. "The Raza – "

"This ship." The Android injected.

"But as far as the miners are concerned: a race of blood thirsty aliens, monsters, come to wipe them out." Two said voice sharp with some repressed emotion. Four managed to tear his eyes away from his picture on the screen. His past was laid out, in disarmingly bloody detail. It hurt, but it didn't feel like the whole story.

What concerned him wasn't the information listed about him, but about the others. He'd been right not to trust them. Some of them had more blood on their hands than he did. Although he felt relieved not to see Five on the screen, a small part of him wished she'd left a string of bodies in her past. Then he'd feel more confident that she could hold her own against such a clearly violent crew. Shifting slightly to face he object of his conjecture, he found her eyes narrowed, and jaw clenched. Her eyes were on Two's nearly unreadable face.

"But the truth is," Six said, "We're nothing but a bunch of low life mercenaries."

"No we're better than that," Three said stoically. Four could see hope begin to light Five's – "We're also pirates and smugglers and thieves," He just had to ruin it. Four watched Five roll her eyes and shake her head. So much for hope. "It's a very diversified portfolio," Three concluded proudly.

Four barely knew the man, but figured he needed to make light of the situation in order to deal with it. One was in denial. Six seemed defeated. Four accepted what he could not change. Two appeared angered. Made sense Three would joke about it.

"You think this is funny?" One asked accusingly. Yes, defiantly in denial.

"It's my defense mechanism: humor." Three said, eyes still glued to the screen. Four saw Five relax slightly. Apparently Three admitting it out loud was of some kind of relief to her. Four found himself reprimanding One with a look for not picking up on that. His obliviousness was actually kind of incredible given his rap sheet.

"That and apparently, killing people," Three said still eyeing the information on the screen.

"I think we need to talk about our next move," Six said, smoothly defusing any potential situation and getting the conversation back on track. Four watched Five watch Six. Her expression was guarded, but the slight trembling of her hands betrayed her nervousness.

"Well he's right you know," Three said raising his arms slightly, whether in defeat or exasperation, Four couldn't tell. "Oh listen, I don't wanna be the one to say it, but if all this stuff is true, we came here to do a job." And there it was. The cold hard truth. They were meant to kill these people. Two said it earlier, but until Three's accented voice spat the words out, it still seemed possible that there was another explanation. They were here to kill these people. Now they either had to screw their employer and risk their lives, or kill innocent people. Four didn't like either of those options.

"You want to go down to the planet and kill those people?" One asked accusingly, this time anger giving his voice a sharp edge. His denial clearly ran deep.

"No one's killing anyone." Two said. Four watched Five exhale deeply at her words. He felt his own gut tighten. This was a lose - lose situation. A small part of Four wished he wasn't involved, but the larger part of him realized he was very much involved and had a decision to make. This wasn't going to be easy.

"I didn't say I wanted to kill anyone," Three said defensively. "I'm just talking about the people who hired us." Three, for all his faults, was at least practical. Four respected that.

"Ferrous Corporation," Six supplied. "Galactic Combine."

"Exactly," Three said, finally turning away from the screen, to face Two. "Not the sort of folks you wanna disappoint," turning to One he added, "I'm guessing."

"Too bad. I'm no murderer." One said, voice hard with finality. Despite the insanity of turning against their employer, Four found he could respect the man's convictions. He completely disagreed with them, but he could respect them. If you never embrace your past, you'll always be running from it. Four accepted what he'd done, and would use those skills to do what he wanted or needed to do next.

"It's funny cause the screen says otherwise," Three instigated.

"Yeah, I don't care what it says," One said dismissively. Four watched the banter between the two men, irritation beginning to bubble at their childishness. However, in a slightly surprising turn of events, Three left One alone and turned his attention to the Android.

"So have you managed to uncover anything else?" he asked. Four's eyes traveled back to Five as she looked almost eagerly at the Android. Four wanted there to be more information, but was worried about what other secrets might come out. His past seemed dark, and as much as he wanted to know about it, he wasn't sure he wanted the rest of the ship to know.

"Unfortunately, the rest of the data was corrupted." The Android said.

"Well I suppose that's plenty," Six said, voice still sullen and resigned. "Hell of a lot more than I wanted to know anyways." Bullshit. Four had enough and finally decided to weigh in.

"We all wanted to know," he said. Five, along with the rest of the crew finally turned to face him. He could feel their eyes boring into him. He ignored them and returned his gaze to the screen. "These are the memories we left behind, death, despair, chaos. So what?" He met each of the crew's eyes briefly before finally reaching Five. "If they're no longer a part of us now, what does it even matter?"

With that he turned and walked out, trying his hardest not feel the blue eyes staring at his retreating frame.


	14. Innocence

Four's mind was in chaos, spinning from the new information. His feet lead while his mind spun. When they came to rest, he found himself in the training room. He sat down, unsure of what he should do. While training seemed like a good way to calm his mind, he wasn't sure he deserved that calm.

Deserved or not, calming his mind would help him be a better warrior, so he began to push his body through rigorous training. He did pull ups until he couldn't move, and sit ups until his abdomen was numb. Somehow, through the rhythmic motion of his body, his mind calmed giving him clarity.

As he brought his exhausted body to his room he found himself accepting of, if not okay with the revelations. He was a criminal. He had broken the law. Whatever reasons behind it were long forgotten. What's done is done. He had to find it in him to accept it and move on.

As his mind drifted off into dreamland, he found himself saddened at the loss of his own innocence. Regardless of whatever had happened in the past, he had been innocent the moment he awoke from stasis with the peculiar case of amnesia. He couldn't help the resentment he felt at losing that innocence so brutally and so publicly. He was glad of the knowledge, but as his eyes slowly closed, he found a small part of himself wishing things had gone differently. That his innocence had been preserved.


	15. The Morning After

When Four awoke, he found his mind much calmer. Rationally speaking, the news of his blood stained past didn't change who he was when he walked out of the stasis pod. He was Four. He'd never met Ryo, and couldn't find it in him to miss the person he used to be.

Acceptance aside, there was still quite a bit of danger hanging over his head due to a lack of information. It was clear he'd done some questionable things, but he had no idea who he'd pissed off, what enemies or friends he'd made along the way. His next step would be to find out as much about his past life as he could.

Sitting up, he studied his room. The small quarters seemed almost prison-esque in the light of the morning. His body hummed with the desire to do something, be productive. Standing, he cringed a little, feeling the effect of the intense work out session from the night before. His body protested against such rigorous labor, but only slightly. Apparently Ryo used similar coping techniques.

"Four? Ryo?" A small voice came from outside his door. Shaking his head he turned to open it as a small knock rang out against it's paneling.

As the door swished open, Five and the Android stood staring expectantly. Five reached into her pocket and pulled out a protein bar.

"I thought you might be hungry. Um, Two says we're still doing the drop so, um, get ready." She said never really looking at him. She's was clearly uncomfortable, and while he had much bigger problems than somebody's comfort, a small part of his stomach twisted at the sign of her nerves.

"Thank you," Four responded, finding unexpected gentleness coloring his voice. "And it's Four." He couldn't figure out why he felt the need to verbalize the distinction between the two, but when Five finally looked at him, she seemed a little less nervous.

Waving his hand in both thanks and retreat, Four politely closed his door and began to prepare for the drop.

As he dressed he found himself loading more weapons than the day before. Whatever else the scree had managed to divulge, the warning to watch your back was one Four heard loud and clear. Especially considering they were most likely hired to kill those people and instead were going to give them a fighting chance. He double and triple checked the rounds in his guns, and grabbed extra. His knives were all sharpened except for a few. A quick flick of the wrist on a sharpening stone, and they were as good as new. After he'd loaded every weapon in his room, he realized he had plenty of room for more. With a smirk and a quick look around to ensure he'd grabbed them all, he headed to the training room.

His feet silently carried him giving him time to think about what was likely to happen down there. For all his skill, his ability. It seemed slim to none that no blood would be shed while they were still planetside, let alone after they left. His journey to the training room was meant to ensure it wasn't his.

His gut soured as he continued to think about what they were likely walking into. By now, someone was bound to notice that the job they'd been paid to do, remained undone. If they didn't get out soon, they'd be found out. Their betrayal, and why would come to light in the most abrupt way possible.

On this grim thought, he marched into what Four was coming more and more to think of as his sanctuary, and began to load as many weapons into the assorted pockets and crevices littering his clothing. The length, color, and fit hid most of them. However, Four made sure a few were visible. Showing sharp teeth sedates small scuffles. Any animosity would be less likely to be acted upon if it was clear he was armed and prepared. An unprepared enemy is a dead one.

Whoever had taught Four had clearly taught him well.

Satisfied with the arsenal discretely covering his body, Four headed towards the shuttle. Nearing the shuttle, hushed tones floated towards him. To prevent startling whoever had already arrived, he intentionally made his footsteps heavier. Hearing his approach, One stuck his head out of the doorway.

"Hey."

Four nodded in reply. He could hear Three stumbling towards them as he made his way towards his seat. He pulled his sword, to examine while One and Six discussed how to fly the Marauder. The blade was clean and sharp. He'd yet to use them and wanted to ensure their usefulness in combat.

Four could smell Three before he could see him. Despite the soap still clinging to his skin, and the mint flavoring his breath, the stench of liquor clung to his pores, clearing up any confusion on how he spent his night.

"Seriously, yo" Three asked as he callously knocked it out of the way, heading for a chair. This close Four could see the bags under his eyes. Whatever bravado he might be putting up, last night's news shook him too. "What's with the sword?"

Yesterday, Four would have ignored the question.

"It's quicker," Four said still examining it, enjoying the feel of it in his hands. "More effective in close quarter combat."

"More effective than a gun?" Three asked, disbelief coloring and hardening his voice.

"Without a doubt." Four said, glancing briefly at the man. He hadn't wanted to start an argument, but Three clearly had. His eyes danced, and if Four hadn't of seen the pain in them moments ago, he would have ignored the red faced man.

"You think you could outdraw me with that thing?" Amusement bled through, and Four was almost offended. Overconfidence will kill you faster than any weapon. Again, Four found himself listening to the voice of a man he could no longer remember and drawing wisdom from it. Let Three think what he wanted. However, since Three was going on this mission with him, Four wanted to reassure the man, that he at least, was a capable fighter.

"I would have your head cut off before you could even unholster." Okay, so maybe Four was a little offended. Given that his blade was currently resting against Three's neck and the slightest pressure would sever his carotid artery, it seemed likely. Four chuckled at his own brashness as Two sashayed onto the shuttle.

"Hey," she said, as he lowered his sword with a grin. She was looking at One, shooting daggers. Her voice and posture booked no room for argument. "I need to talk to you."

Four found himself full blown smiling as a chorus of "oooohs", and turned heads echoed this announcement. Four slid his sword back into the sheath, and stepped out of the way, so the man could pass. He couldn't help the grin currently gracing his face. Despite the certain danger they were headed for, he had a good feeling about today.


	16. The Drop

While One and Two spoke privately, Four, Three and Six settled into their selected seats, waiting for the One's return. The shuttle was eerily quiet as it descended onto the colony. Four found his earlier mirth slowly slipping away as the ground neared.

Once landed Six and One carried the crates of weapons while Three acted as an ambassador, explaining away how they mysteriously came across weapons and their newly discovered generosity. According to Three they were transporting weapons for a private contractor working for the government. The story worked on many levels, explaining why they might have been attacked, why they were hesitant to give the settlers weapons upfront, and gave them credibility and authority Four was certain would come in handy. Four remained to the back of the group providing protection. Their order was unofficial, everyone falling into their roles seamlessly.

One and Mirielle unpacked the crates while Nassan and Six discussed battle strategy. Three flirted with the local talent and Four kept an eye on any disturbances that might arise. It took about 20 minutes from when they landed to now, for everything to be unpacked and settled. Satisfied with what looked to be a clean break, Four began to move towards the exit when he saw Keeley come up to Three. When Three's face broke out into a smile, Four's gut soured. This was not a clean break.

Sauntering towards Four and Six, who had by now noticed the change in Three's attitude and came to stand beside Four, Three mouthed "party" and followed after Keeley. Swallowing a frustrated groan, Four, Six and One trailed after the duo. As they neared the mess hall, they could hear rambunctious laughter and music. Apparently the good news of the weapons drop had spread. 10 minutes, Four told himself as they walked in. They were leaving in 10 minutes. They were each greeted with a pint of something strong if the smell was anything to go by. Three sat down and was immediately surrounded by locals wanting to thank him. Four politely took a sip of the drink, noticing it's bitter aftertaste before finding a pillar to lean against. Six sat on a stool, watching the scene with concern clearly etched on his face. One sat next to Six, frustration twisting his features into a hard mask.

Three, seemingly unbothered by his shipmates dour dispositions, began to chug his drink, resulting in cheers, table banging, and voracious applause. Four watched as One and Six began to debate in hushed tones. Given the look Six just gave Four, he could safely assume One wanted to stay and fight. The shuttle was leaving soon, with or without One on it. Four hoped the slender man would see reason, but if he wanted to kill himself for strangers, that was his prerogative. As Six put his arm around One's shoulders and they slumped in defeat, Four realized they might still get a clean get away. Time to gather his men…

"Ferrous Corp is here!" a local named Tomas came in yelling. "Ferrous Corp is here!"

"Go, go!" Nassan shouted. As Four hurried to grab One, preventing any stupid heroics, the man took off after the locals, Six calling for him to stay.

Three, Four and Six looked at each other, and began to weave between the haphazardly strewn chairs and tables, all reaching for their desired weapons.

So much for a clean get away.


	17. Bloodshed

The sound of gunshots and yelling cleared any uncertainties about the trouble facing them if they revealed themselves to the corporation. But they could still make a clean break. If they could just get away without being seen…

"Whoa, whoa whoa, whoa!" One said as he ran to the middle of what would soon be a killing ground. Someone needed to put a leash on him. Or commit him. What kind of sane man stands between two sides when his loyalty lies with neither?

"Hold on. Hold on. Hold on, please!" One pleaded. Guy had heart, Four would give him that. Not much brain, but he had courage. Guess that would make him a scarecrow. Despite the gravity of the situation, Four found himself smiling at a story he could almost remember before it drifted away like smoke on a summer night.

"No one wants a fight here." One said, speaking to the leader of what appeared to be the corporation's force. Four saw his eyes flick to Three, Six and himself as they approached. No matter how looney One was for not only revealing their presence, but showing weakness in front of those who probably only knew of their past, no man gets left behind. A silent consensus seemed to have been made to, if not back One, make sure he got back to the ship safely.

"You had a job to do, Corso," the man in charge said as his eyes flicker warily to Three and Four's approaching forms. The man's almost comical double take as he saw Four approaching was both enlightening and slightly disheartening. Out of the three approaching men, he was technically the smallest but clearly the most feared. Apparently that screen didn't know the half of his past. At least he had a reputation he could use to his advantage.

"Well, we took some time to think it through," One said, standing straighter as back up approached. "And decided on a change of plans." Four found himself silently cursing One's impetuousness. If he'd told him, it would be handled or something similar they could have made it back to the ship to regroup. Instead he all but told him they were going to fight for the miners.

"Take your men and leave," ah there was the false bravado Four remembered. Whatever his faults, One could put on a front with the best of them.

"Tell your bosses we're with these people now." That's it. Four was going to punch the man as soon as they were safely back on the ship. Not only had he just screwed any chance of word not getting out that the Raza was acting funny (and therefor vulnerable to competitors and enemies alike) but just signed the crews' death warrants. No way a corporation this big lets its mercenaries go peaceful, without any bloodshed.

"You can't be serious," the man said as his eyes once again found their way to Four. Yeah he definitely saw Four as a threat. Four inwardly cringed at the target he was sure was painted on his back. He was seen as the biggest threat; he would be the first one they tried to take down. Tried being the operative word.

"What did the offer you?" the man asked. If One was smart, he'd name some ridiculous number and then the corporation would double if they just walked away giving them a clean break with twice the money and –

"You know us. You know what we're capable of." One was most certainly getting punched. Instead of taking the potential way out, he was going to threaten the guy who apparently used to sign their checks. Not a wise decision.

"Think of the losses," One continued. "It's not worth it. Find another planet." Absolutely no brain. Whatever he was in his past life, a criminal mastermind certainly couldn't have been apart of it.

"It's not my call," the man said. Left unspoken was that it wasn't theirs either but the man seemed smart enough not to say that. "I'll have to take this upstairs."

One looked at Four as if looking for advice. Four kept his face a mask. They were in too deep at this point. He doubted they were all going to walk away from this. If they did, he was kicking One's ass for getting them into it.

"Fair enough," One said before turning to walk away. As he did everything seemed to slow down as Four watched the man reach for his gun. Adrenaline rushed through him as his body reacted to the battle before his mind caught up. Before the man could begin to unholster his gun, Four's katana swept across his neck, blood following the arc of his blade. Six, in response to the quick movement of Four, had his guns unholstered and began shooting as the corporation's men opened fire. The miners seized the opportunity and joined in the gun play, providing cover, as One,  
Three, Four and Six found crates to provide more substantial cover. Four noticed Three grabbing One and pulling him along as he too opened fire.

From the relative safety provided by the crates, Four, Six, Three, and One joined the exchange of bullets and blood. The corporation's men were not stupid and took out the snipers on top of the crates quickly and efficiently. Bodies dropped as quickly as shell casings as each side lost fighters. As suddenly as it began, the fighting stopped. The corporation's men were far outnumbered and the miners should no mercy.

Four saw Six head towards the truck and point his gun inside. He pulled someone from the vehicle and lead him through the bodies strewn carelessly across the dirt. Whatever his past, at least he thought things through.

With the rest of the corporation's people dead, now at least the miners could get some information out of this one before he joined his brethren. Unfortunately for the miner's, they'd suffered their share of losses as well. Four watched as the battle adrenaline slowly faded and Mirielle rushed to the fallen. She seemed to be looking for signs of life among her fighters. In spite of the loss of life, the four of them were still standing and Four was ready to keep it that way by getting back on the shuttle and as far away from whatever trouble One just started.

"That actually went better than I thought it would," Three said as he gestured to the man Four beheaded. The dirt was stained with death and Three made a joke. Four found himself almost wanting to smile at the man's antics. Almost.


	18. When the Smoke Clears

One leapt into action as Mirielle found survivors. Holstering their weapons, Four, Six, and Three began to help transport the wounded to the make shift infirmary someone had been wise enough to set up beforehand.

As they laid the men on the cots, Six tying tourniquets and ensuring IV's were placed correctly, Four found himself in a daze. He killed a man. Without hesitation. For someone he wasn't even sure he trusted. His mind seemed incapable of processing anything. All he wanted in that moment was to be anywhere but surrounded by these people. The thought of going back to the ship filled him with unease. If they went back, he'd have to face what he'd done through innocent, wide blue eyes. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see the condemnation he was sure to find. He hadn't seen her since they found out about their sordid past, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why he cared what she thought.

She was just a stranger, passing through his life. Even as he thought it, he shook his head. Whatever role Five had played, or would play in his life, he was sure it was significant.

He was brought back to the present by Three's overly loud voice in a room full of hushed whispers.

"Nope," he said, straightening from where he'd been tending to one of the fallen. "We can't stay."

"Of course we can," One said immediately taking offense. Apparently bringing Ferrous Corp down on them wasn't enough. He wanted to stay and fight them, again. Four didn't say anything but he was sure even One the Oblivious could sense the disapproval Four was certain was emanating from his very pores. They were not staying.

"Just long enough to help the injured," One added quickly. Smartest thing he'd said today.

"We're leavin right now," Three said, as if this conversation was ridiculous to begin with. Which it was.

"You selfish sonova" One began, the bubbling anger that always seemed to be there when it came to Three, finally coming to a boil. Before One could finish his sentence he was cut off by Six's calm voice of reason.

"He's right," Six said, his tone's new found sharpness cutting through the tension. "It's a long hike back to the Marauder and there could be more of them out there." The matter settled, Four turned to leave.

Or not.

"Wait a minute," a local in a hat said as he started after them. "You're going to abandon us?"

"You got your weapons," Three the unofficial spokesperson began, "staying was never part of the deal." The man may be rough around the edges but Four admired his diplomacy and tact. He wasn't sure Three had it in him, especially after the whole voting issue.

"Neither was killing those soldiers," the man accused. "But now you're just gonna leave us here to deal with the fallout!" While his eyes never left Three, Four felt as if the man was looking right at him. He had been the one to spill the first blood. Maybe this could have been prevented if he'd just –

"Friend," Three said, his patience clearly running out. "The fallout would've been so much worse if we hadn't been here so, you're welcome." Despite the frustration in his tone, Three kept his voice level and sincere. Again Four found himself admiring the man's unshakable façade he continued to display. Four saw One noticing and almost chuckled at his reaction. Eventually he'd have to realize Three clearly had more depth than might be first assumed.

"Please," the man all but shouted, drawing all attention back to him. "I mean you've got a shuttle; a ship." Thee turned and walked away, apparently done making nice.

"That's right," One said stepping close to the man, voice cracking slightly. He was about to say something stupid. "And they're at your disposal if any of you want to leave." Four showed no outward sign of it but he was mentally slapping One for saying something so rash. There was no way they could afford to cart a whole planet wherever they needed to go! They didn't have the fuel, the food, the time, let alone the space!

"Look you stood your up, you made your point," One almost pleaded. "But now it's time to go. This is a war you can't win." When the faces of the men before him remained unchanged, his voice softened. "Please," he whispered. Four knew he meant well but couldn't shake the desire to literally beat some sense into him.

"You're all a bunch of cowards," the man shouted. Whatever else he may or may not be, Four was certainly not a coward. "All of you," he said, glaring at One. Before Four could begin to feel angry at the attack on his honor, Nassan silenced his man.

"Hagen," he said gently, "That's enough. This is our battle. We can't expect anyone to fight for us." This he said turning to look at One. It seemed Nassan was giving One an out. Letting him know, it wasn't expected or "the right thing" to fight their battle for them.

"These men risked their lives, offered more than we had any right to expect of them," he continued, meeting the eyes of each mercenary as he spoke. "We have help coming. When it gets here, we'll be fine." Four could see One's shoulders hunch as if he'd been hit with a physical blow. Walking up to him, Nassan extended his hand.

"We appreciate all you've done for us," Nassan said, shaking One's hand. He reached to Six to do the same.

"Good luck," Six said, answering his grip.

Four actually found part of him wishing they didn't need it.


	19. Gone

The walk back to the shuttle was silent. Four's mind was blank as he focused on the mechanical movements of his legs and feet as they trudged through the snow.

As everyone took their unofficial assigned seats Three broke the silence with a sigh.

"Let's get the hell of this rock," he said to Six, currently at the helm.

"Uh, we've got a problem" Six said, flipping switches.

"What?" questioned One.

"The ship. It's not there."

Four watched idly as his companions faces morphed from their stone masks into panicked expressions. No need to worry if the captain wasn't worried.

"What do you mean 'it's not there'?" demanded Three, as One stood up, crowding Six. Some good that was going to do.

"I'm telling you it's not there," Six repeated, panic starting to seep into his voice. Now Four stood. If Six, one of the clearer headed of this rag tag group was uneasy, there was a good reason to be. Ships don't just disappear.

"The Raza is gone," Six stated.

There are several reasons why the ship could be gone and Four liked none of them. They could have left by force. They could have been shot down. They could have been bribed. They could have left out of fear, or preemptively. Regardless of why they left, Four knew they had to get off the shuttle. They just attacked those men and now had no way to leave. This shuttle wasn't well hidden and would make an easy target, especially if FerrousCorp was the one who "removed" the Raza from the equation. They would know the shuttle was grounded.

Four turned without a word and exited the shuttle. The others could follow him or stay in that death trap. Despite his mixed feelings on the subject, their best chance was with the miners. They had resources, food, water, guns, money, shelter. Since the Raza was gone, they would need some place to restock and hunker down. However, going back to the miners meant helping them end this fight. It was never theirs to begin with, but it seems they were entrenched in it despite their best efforts. They could either stand with the miners or die in isolation. Smart money was on surviving with the miners, even though chances of that were slim.

Four figured in a fair fight, they might actually stand a chance. But corporations don't fight fair. The best bet for his and his shipmates' survival was to figure out what the corporation was up to before they had the chance to implement it.

"Where are, you going?" One called after him. Four could hear the crunch of boots in the snow, enough pairs to know everyone was following him. He internally debated ignoring One's question completely before responding.

"Back to the miners," Four growled out. He absolutely hated explaining himself, especially when it seemed obvious.

"How are we going to explain this?" One asked no one in particular.

"We'll tell them the truth," came the surprising reply from Three. "We took too long down here dropping off weapons, and out ship had to leave."

Four liked that plan. It would make the more noble of the miners feel indebted to them, even if they didn't deserve it. This debt could be called in for supplies, protection, whatever they may end up needing. For those less than noble… their words would fall on deaf ears. Four had met these people. He knew there were more noble amongst the ranks than not.

Much to Four's surprise, One didn't argue. The man seemed to live to contradict but this time, his silence voiced his agreement. The remainder of the walk was completed in that silence, broken only by the sounds of weaponry maintenance. They were walking into a situation where they were vulnerable. Based on the sounds of clips being reloaded, Four assumed none of them were comfortable with that. He unsheathed his katana and held it loosely in his right hand. They were vulnerable, but they were prepared.


End file.
